U.S. men's basketball's gold-medal win rivals 'Dream Team' in viewership

The United States' top basketball stars won gold over France Saturday at the 2024 Paris Olympics, captivating an audience rivaling one of the infamous "dream teams" of the 1990s.

An average of 19.6 million viewers tuned in to watch Stephen Curry and LeBron James lead the U.S. to a 98-87 victory over the host country. It's the highest-rated gold-medal game since 1996 when Hall of Famer Charles Barkley led the third "Dream Team" to a gold medal win over Yugoslavia in Atlanta.

Before Saturday, the highest-rated gold-medal game after 1996 took place in 2000, when the U.S. also defeated France, drawing 16.3 million viewers, per Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch. Additionally, Lewis pointed out that, at its peak (22.7 million), Saturday's contest was the most-watched basketball game at any level since the 2019 NCCA men's basketball national championship (Virginia vs. Texas Tech), which gained 19.6 million viewers.

The robust numbers aren't a surprise, as this trend has been apparent throughout the Paris games, regardless of the competition.

The U.S. women's gymnastics team won all-around gold to a massive audience of 12.7 million, topping several major sporting events , including every game of the 2023-24 NBA Finals and the opening round of this year's NFL Draft. Likewise, the U.S. women's national soccer team's first gold medal victory in 12 years , a 1-0 win over Brazil, was the most-watched since the 2004 Athens games (9 million) despite being broadcast at 11 a.m. Saturday in the States.

Likewise, NBC, Peacock and its platforms surpassed 30 million viewers during Saturday's Olympic coverage, with an overall average of 31.3 million throughout the games.